


The Difference Between a House and a Home

by MisterRJ



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family Dynamics, Found Family, Hybrids, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28992843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisterRJ/pseuds/MisterRJ
Summary: Philza is lonely, so he adopts children, as usual, but this time, it's a hybrid au.Coincidentally, there are five children who need a place to stay, and so the story begins.
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 108
Kudos: 498





	1. Filling an (Empty) House

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, the letter at the beginning is so stupid looking to me, but it’s instrumental in future jokes, so deal with it
> 
> also, i still don't know how to use tags, so suggest any you think are accurate

Philza sat at his desk, pen in hand. It was a challenge to find the right thing to write. 

~

From home to home, hybrids are terrorized by threats of hate and malice. For centuries, we, hybrids, have fought for our survival, our rights, our freedom, and equality to humans. Despite this many hybrids still find themselves in danger on a day to day basis. This is why I, Philza Minecraft, have started a sanctuary for any hybrids who find themselves affected negatively simply because they weren’t born human.

This is by no means an act against humans, rather a defense for hybrids who may not be able to defend themselves.

If you are at all interested in this cause or want to join me and my home, you may contact me with the information listed underneath this paper.

~

And so the letters were sent out. The first few messages to come back to him were vague threats or disgusting insults, but it didn’t take too long for some interested people to find the paper

The idea reminded Philza of when he became a hybrid. Hybrid traits come in with puberty, meaning most are teens when they find out. The gene itself has no connection to genetics or any other traceable routes.

Little teen Philza didn’t think much when he got a pain in his back. He assumed it was just more growing pains. I'm getting taller, Philza had thought so excitedly. Instead, Philza woke up one night to his back splitting open. He didn’t remember much of the pain, just that he had wings afterward. It was his parents that he remembered. Their faces were drawn into distinct frowns. It was the kind of concern even a kid could sense. 

From then on, Philza wore a long robe over his two new limbs. They were constantly cramped, and sitting down on the school seats was always awkward. It made him envious, knowing other kids would live their entire lives without experiencing anything like that.

On occasion, he would find an abandoned field to fly around when his wings hurt for a while. He would never wear his cloak in his room unless someone else came in. He wore it around his parents too. They were more comfortable that way, he could tell. He was only asked about his robe a few times, and most waved it away as a quirky teen thing. It grew into just ‘Philza’s thing’ after he graduated. 

Around that time, new laws were being passed to reduce hate crimes against hybrids. In turn, he started to meet new hybrids who were open about their differences. He showed his wings to a select group of people. None of them acted violently because of it, thankfully, but he knew people who had been discriminated against after telling someone. Things could range from the silent judgment to cutting them out of your life or beating them half to death. He’d heard it all, and it scared him.

He considered himself lucky. That was why he was doing this. No one should ever be treated differently because of a biological roulette wheel. 

He’d noticed that he lived alone a while ago. He’d been a traveler after university, to all sorts of unique places. Eventually, he decided on settling down. A big house with only one person can be very lonely, he’d discovered. The unoccupied bedrooms throughout the house were ghostly, haunted with empty space. 

It hadn’t occurred to him at first. At first, the house was a place of rest and reflection. He’d decorated it with things he’d collected from around the world. An oversized globe sat in the living room, and Philza would spin it when walking past. When his finger landed on a place, he tried to recall whether he’d been there or not. More often than not, he had.

He didn’t have a formal job, not yet, at least. He wrote about where he’d been. He wrote what he could remember. The smell of foreign spices, the feeling of unique new fabrics from across the sea. The sight of a large golden statue of an ancient deity that sat in the center of a temple that was lined with brilliant patterns scratched into the walls. The taste of wonderful, aged wine. The sound of bells and wind chimes as an ocean breeze rolls past. He wrote about those things, the things he could just barely remember. 

Now, he had time to stop and smell the roses. His cabin resided on top of one of the smaller mountains of the region. It was less crowded than the other mountains and was farther away from the nearby town. It was too noisy for his taste. Just down the mountain, there was a gorgeous lake. Every so often he would spend the day down there fishing. The lake was serene and had a particular beauty to it. Even the house could feel cramped some days, and the great outdoors was always a great escape. When the day came to a close, he’d hike up to his house and cook the fish he’d caught.

He’d sit alone at the dinner table. Maybe a record would play in the background. Sometimes the sound of the crickets outside was enough to occupy his ears.

He’d think of a full dinner table. Who would be there, Philza didn’t know. They’d all be laughing and getting along well. He’d smile. It would bring him great satisfaction to know they were all happy. Maybe Philza was missing a family. Or just a collective of people who need him as much as he needed them.

It was a pleasant thought, and what better to bring them together, but their differences, to each other and the rest of the world. So, there he’d sat, writing his pamphlets. It was vague, but so was his idea. It didn’t matter much. He wanted to help, but he also didn’t want to be alone. He didn’t think that was selfish. 

He spent a few days dusting the bedrooms and washing the sheets. He never made a mess, but he did tidy up the house in preparation for whoever would show up first. He made sure his dishes were all almost constantly washed. The windows were washed clean, and the curtains were drawn back. Most of the lights stayed off. The windows let beautiful natural light in, which was another thing Philza loved about the place.

It took two weeks for the first new resident to show up at his doorstep. He adjusted the bucket hat on his head. He glanced at the robe on the coat hanger but decided against it. His wings expanded behind him as normal, fluffing out of nervousness. He rushed down the stairs and moved towards the door. As the door opened, a new chapter of Philza’s life was just beginning. 

\----------------------------

Growing up a hybrid was a whole story on its own. Especially if it was hard to hide. 

Ever since the tiny age of 14, Technoblade had known he was a hybrid, and so did everyone else. He’d already lost all of his primary teeth and the babies had come in, but his mouth hurt. It hurt for a while, at least a month. When they went to the dentist, the doctors regretfully told his parents, and then him the big news. Techno was a piglin hybrid.

From then on, his parents drew away from him. They started eating dinner at separate times, without him, going out on more solo date nights. It wasn’t long until they only spoke to him about once a week or less. He got good enough grades. They knew he’d be leaving the house soon anyway, and Techno couldn’t wait to escape.

A week after the visit to the dentist, his mouth bled until he had little tusks. From then on, life changed for the worst, as expected, even outside of his house. School was bad of course. He’d always been sort of an outsider, so he wasn’t shocked by being ignored by even more of his peers. It was the aggressive ones, the ones who would join together after school, just to beat him up. His parents, predictively, didn’t care much. He’d just get home and take a shower. He didn’t try to fight back. Fighting back meant getting marks on his report card, and marks on his report card lessened his chances of getting into college. College was his escape.

It was really the people outside of school he worried about. They could be even more aggressive. They knew words Techno hadn’t even heard before and they weren’t scared of anyone walking past them when they assaulted him. He slowly learned to blend into the shadows and fight back. In that way, it was easier to deal with school. It felt far easier to deal with than the real world. He could actually do something about it outside of that dreaded hell.

He was in his last year of high school when it happened. He punched back for once, and of course, faced consequences none of the others had. All he did was break one kid’s nose, it wasn’t like they’d never done that to him before. Multiple times, if his memory was right. They threatened to expel him after that, but after looking at his grades, changed the punishment to a week of suspension. It was bullshit. Still, he drove home in silence. He sat in his room in silence, thinking. 

Instead of doing anything productive, he flipped to the internet. There were a few sites he looked at all the time for things like hybrid rights or general hybrid communities. He never made any friends there either though, like in real life. He had a tendency to not post anything at all, and besides, he was horrible at texting back. It was there that he saw his saving grace. A dude, some guy named Philza was posting about looking for roommates who were hybrids too or something. It was a little odd, and maybe pretentious or something, but he was just lonely looking. Techno had seen him post on the website before, and he had done a lot of traveling in his younger years and had now settled down, presumably not having anyone close. Maybe the guy was just looking for some friends. Either way, Techno was desperate to leave.

At first, he just sent the guy a text asking if the place had wifi. It was a simple question, but would ultimately determine if he would go there or not. He started making a plan, just in case this whole thing panned out. He’d just leave a note for his parents, telling them that he was moving in with a friend or something. They wouldn’t bother to look into it more than that. He could finish high school online. He’d get a job on the weekends to pay the rent and maybe work on the youtube channel he’d started. He probably wouldn’t get any money from it, but why not try.

The man responded quickly, two hours later, telling him that he did in fact have wifi at the house. Technoblade asked some follow up questions like how much the rent was and if the house had any specific rules or regulations. Philza responded by saying that the place didn't cost anything. He went on about how he’d written a book about his travels that’d gotten popular and that he didn’t need any payment. Techno was pleased with this answer but suspicious. The rules were pretty normal. All he said was no parties, try to keep the house clean, and respect everyone else in the house. That sealed the deal. Philza sent him the address. If Philza was a serial killer or something, he’d just try and get back home. Being back at his house wouldn’t be the ideal situation, but maybe he’d just keep doing online school. 

So, two days later, after packing everything important, he started his drive to the next state over. He’d bought the car himself, with his own money, so it didn’t matter if he just took it. He did like road trips. He hadn’t gone on a trip since he was just a little boy without hybrid features. They could’ve, hell, his parents did, just without him. His favorite part was the drive. His parents never let him have fast food or listen to his headphones in the car, except on trips. It was a luxury he’d missed dearly.

So, there he was, in a Wendy’s parking lot, eating a cheeseburger. He was about an hour away from the house and it was only 2:00 pm. He was making good headway so far. When he got out of the car the last time to use the restroom, he’d been called a ‘hybrid freak’. Honestly, it wasn’t as nearly as bad an insult as he thought it’d be.

Then, he was on the road again. The view outside was beautiful. He spotted a few farms on the trip up, and nice-looking houses, but it was the nature he enjoyed. The trees and their leaves, stretching above and over his car. The different shades of greens in them. The way swarms of crows would soar through the expanse of the sky. He’d seen a group of vultures in one area and figured there must be some sort of dead animal nearby. He’d always found vultures interesting, and they were another thing he enjoyed seeing on trips. He knew it was odd, but he didn’t care much.

The man’s house was big, and he meant big. It was like a mansion cottage. It didn’t look too pompous, it looked like an older house, in fact. It was just the size that was frightening to him. The door didn’t have a doorbell, strangely, so he just knocked a few times. After a few seconds, the door popped open and a man faced him.

“You must be Technoblade, huh?” The man before him had two notable features. For one, he had large wings, longer than his arms for sure. The second was a little striped bucket hat. It looked a little weird on him, but Techno wasn’t one to judge people’s fashion sense. 

“That’s me.”


	2. Opening Doors (Metaphorically)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno moves in

Living with Techno was different. Not by much though, the man kept to himself. He only really when he needed to go buy something. Maybe he went out walking, but he didn’t tell Philza.

His first impression of the kid was bland. Philza felt like a landlord, but he tried to be friendly. It was hard since he wasn’t exactly used to interacting with people for long periods of time and holding a conversion after living alone for so long. Techno didn’t make it easy for him either. Most of his responses were short and guarded, but Philza didn’t push too hard. He knew why. The kid had tusks. He must’ve had a far harder time than Philza, who’d been able to hide it. 

He’d make dinners for the kid, and offered to take him fishing once. He just said he was busy with online school. It was all Techno talked about, and he was always talking about a different class. It was almost hard to keep track. He always knew what he was doing too, and he never complained about his grades. He said he wouldn’t sign up for so many classes if he didn’t think he could handle it. 

Philza still had plenty of time to himself. He worked on his next book. He was well off, so he could devote his next book to writing about his experiences as a hybrid and watching, growing as the world changed around him. He probably wouldn’t have done it if he had less money. People didn’t really go out of their way to read that sort of thing. He wrote about what it was like to watch helplessly while fully-grown adult humans decided his, and every other hybrid's fate, their future, their rights. 

He also monitored his messages. There were a few more people interested, but hesitant. He could understand that. He tried to assure them he was an okay dude without being too weird, it was a long process. 

The first time Techno disappeared, Philza panicked a little. It's been a week since he moved and Philza was still watching him like a hawk, while also trying not to be weird. Thankfully, Philza had found the note Techno had left on the kitchen counter before he started frantically texting. It was a scary experience. He barely knew Techno, but he still cared about the kid. 

Philza was waiting in the living room the whole time, just reading a spare book he’d gotten recently. He released a breath when Techno returned, about two hours later. Techno glanced at him with a raised eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he walked back upstairs.

Not much happened for a while until he finally got a confirmation that someone else was coming to the house. The person had a sudden shift in tone, which concerned Philza. The person had been on the shelf and Philza was certain they would drop it soon, but no. Then, they’d done a 180 and were going to be there in two or three days. They asked Philza if it was 100% okay that they were coming too, which he of course confirmed.

That night, Philza informed Techno what was happening. Techno listened but shrugged in response. All he got was a little, “as long as they’re not too loud.” He knew the kid well enough to know, unless he asked, Techno wouldn’t say anything else, so he just ate dinner. The crickets were loud that night, and it started to sprinkle outside.

The days passed quickly, and Philza was anxious about it. He still couldn’t drop his concern about the change in opinion. So what if he paced the halls? Techno paid him no mind when he found Philza relentlessly walking the halls one afternoon. Then, one day, the knock finally came.

Techno hadn’t been out of his room yet, skipping breakfast again. So, Philza made his way through the silent house, walking towards the door. 

He stopped in front of the door, flexing his wing muscles, preparing himself to properly introduce himself to his new roommate. The knocking came again. He waited for them to stop before opening the door. When he did, he was a little thrown off. He tried not to let it show, though. Instead of some random adult, around Techno’s age, two kids stood in front of him.

“Hey, you Philza?” 

“Um, yes,” Philza said, preparing to ask questions. Instead, he was quickly cut off as the blond one explained himself rather loudly.

“Sorry about this. I totally forgot to mention I was coming too. To be fair, that was a last minute decision. Besides, we both combined only eat as much as the average adult, I think, so it won’t really matter. And if it does, Tubbo can help clean the house. He’s really good at that stuff.” The kid was out of breath by the time he stopped talking. Philza took notice of how tired the both of them looked already.

“It’s true, it’s true,” said the other one, presumably Tubbo. He had visible wings, clear, frail wings, it looked and two little antennas on his head. If Philza had to guess, he’d say the kid was some sort of bug hybrid. The other had no identifiable hybrid features, but he could just be like Philza and hid his. The kids only had two bags each, which made Philza more worried. This could very well mean he might have to meet some angry parents or even a lawsuit, but the kids had left their household for a reason. And they were kids for god’s sake. It wasn’t like he could turn them away. 

“Anyway, I’m Tommy, and as I said, this is Tubbo,” the blonde said. 

“Nice to meet you, boys. Come on in, I’ll show you around.” God, what would Techno even think about this?

The kids were in awe at the house. Tubbo asked him about some of the artifacts from around the world, and Tommy was too busy taking everything in to say anything. 

At the end of the day, the two decided to share the room with bunk beds. Philza was honestly going to replace the beds with a single, but this was more fitting, and it meant he had one more room. By the end of the day, Philza was worn out from worrying, so instead, he focused on lunch for the four of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, Philza doesn’t know Techno is in high school, he just thinks he’s in college or something.


	3. Two Friends (and A Narrative Obstacle)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are here and so is their backstory

Tommy wasn’t a hybrid, but his best friend sure was. 

The two kids met first at the beginning of middle school, far before Tubbo changed. It was the fastest Tommy had ever made a friend and the best one he would ever make. Due to being prone to anger rather easily, he wasn’t always the best at it. But there the two were, in their first year of high school, closer than they’d ever been.

Tommy hated to admit it, but he was younger than Tubbo by around four months. He was grateful people assumed otherwise due to Tommy’s oddly tall height. So, when it came to Tubbo’s birthday, he was incredibly awkward about it and pretended his birthday had already happened until Tubbo told him it was getting annoying. 

Neither of them had known very much about hybrids at that point. They’d heard of them and seen them in passing, sure, but they had little to no knowledge about them. It was in high school, when people freely talked about hybrids, thankfully, just in time. There were plenty of high schoolers who were transformed hybrids and even some of their peers in 9th grade. Over time, they both started to learn more, to varying degrees. Tommy learned about how certain hybrid’s behaviors were influenced by what they changed into, but that that behavior changed was often exemplified by humans and media to worrying degrees. Tubbo learned that hybrids had worked very hard to get where they were, and that for a while, they had been social outcasts, and that some still were because of their differences.

Tommy was the first to really SEE that. The people at their school didn’t care too much. The humans there were young, and they held respect for the people they’d grown up with. They knew that being a hybrid didn’t change the person at all. With some adults, it could be very different. 

When he’d broached the subject with his parents, he’d been shocked at their distinct disgust. It was so disappointing to the young boy. After all, they were the first people to react negatively, at least this much, that is. They were people he expected to be nice and understanding. He’d respected their opinions up until then. Sure, they had some traditional views, but it hadn’t been anything he considered ridiculous. Until then. He didn’t say anything. After all, he was just a kid. Why would they listen to him?

Then, his best friend turned out to be a hybrid, and he was 100% sure his parents were really stupid when it came to their views on hybrids. 

He’d started changing when he was at his house with Tommy. He’d been scratching himself all day, only on his head and back. It hadn’t been weird though. Tommy thought Tubbo just had lice or something before he started changing. It only took them a second to figure out what was happening once Tubbo started bleeding. And from then on his friend had two wings on his back and two antennas on his head. 

It was a process and the two learned about it together. The easiest stuff was learning the basics about his new limbs. His wings looked too thin and fragile, so Tubbo tried not to mess with them. This resulted in him cutting holes in most of his shirts. The antennas weren’t too much of a bother, and with some research, the two discovered Tubbo might be able to hear and smell with them like real bees. It didn’t help them, but they found it interesting and cool.

Tubbo’s parents, unlike Tommy's, didn't have what Tommy would deem a horrible reaction. It wasn’t nearly as bad as Tommy thought, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t bad. Because it was bad. It involved a very clear show of disappointment in both of them and them raising their voices in concern to each other. It was like Tubbo wasn’t even there. So, they both left for a walk.

Tommy stayed at the boy’s side as he always had, although, now he had to threaten people more often than usual. It was the older people of course. School was decent. Although, after doing some research online about other young hybrids’ experiences, he realized he and Tubbo had it luckier than many others.

As the first month passed, Tubbo talked about what his parents would say, to him, or just to each other. There was blame, a lot, put on Tubbo. His dad talked about the people at his work. Apparently, they’d found out somehow and it made them uncomfortable. His mom complained about not being able to take her friends to her house anymore, in case Tubbo’s presence made them uncomfortable. Tommy then cut in and said they were bigots. Tubbo denied it at first, but Tommy was stubborn.

Then, he mentioned it less and less. It concerned Tommy to know that the kid had probably gotten used to it that quickly. And then Tommy’s parents had started to ask why Tommy wasn’t bringing Tubbo to their house anymore. The excuses become harder and harder. It went from having to study for tests, to not feeling up to it, to Tubbo getting sick. 

\---------

Tubbo had a rough time staying at his house anymore. He wished his parents would go away. They always talked about him, but never even looked at him. But if they did, Tubbo knew it would be with contempt. They made him try to hide his wings at one point, but it was so uncomfortable and painful he just started crying. He quickly discovered he didn’t like it when things touched his wings. The same thing went for his antennas. 

School, oddly enough, became the safest place for him. It was more about the people there than the education. He was pretty terrible at reading and math wasn’t his thing either, so he was screwed grade-wise. It was the first thing he’d disappointed his parents with, far before the burden of him being a hybrid was set upon their backs.

Tommy stuck with him the whole time. He’d been there when he’d changed. They’d met when Tommy punched a kid who was making fun of his dyslexia and had been friends since. Tubbo, like Tommy, hadn’t had very many friends before, much less a best friend. Tubbo had always been a quiet kid and said weird stuff when he did talk. Tommy didn’t mind at all, finding whatever Tubbo said very entertaining or interesting.

So, they’d stuck together. They made more friends along the way, but nothing could ever overrule their bond. It also made Tubbo aware of Tommy’s parent’s view on hybrids. Tubbo could tell it pissed Tommy off but was proud of him for not escalating the situation. Over the years, Tommy had learned when a fight would just make the situation worse, but he still got into them more often than he should’ve. Either way, Tubbo was a little sad they could only hang out at his house, which he hated so much, but he accepted it. 

The two would search all sorts of things about hybrids in their free time together. Tommy was always so interested in it and Tubbo certainly didn’t mind. They learned more about the history of hybrids, their differences from humans, and other hybrids’ stories. 

There was one day when Tommy showed him something. It looked like a guy was looking to help out hybrids who were in a tough spot and needed somewhere to stay. Tommy told Tubbo he’d even messaged the guy a few times about the place and that he thought it would be a good plan b if his parents ever snapped or something. Tubbo turned down the idea. His parents weren’t terrible, and leaving by himself was a terrifying thought. Even after hearing this, Tommy told Tubbo that if he ever did, they would text every day and move in together as soon as they left high school.

Things did start to change though. It didn’t change with Tubbo. It didn’t change with his parents. It didn’t change with his school or his friends there. It didn’t change with the outside world or the government. It changed with his best friend. It was subtle. Tommy complained about how he’d been itchy for quite a while, for a day or two, even a little sore. He said he simply didn’t know why. It was just little complaints that wouldn’t mean a thing to a human. Maybe they’d say he had a rash or something similar. And Tubbo did turn it away at first. He left the thought in the back of his mind until Tommy brought it up a week later. It was less than a little tingle then. 

So, Tubbo did start looking into the man Tommy had mentioned. If Tommy was a hybrid, he couldn’t keep living at his house. Tommy had tried to downplay their opinion of hybrids, but Tubbo knew his friend well enough to sense he was sugarcoating it. By the time he’d fully examined the place, a day or two had passed. Tubbo didn’t know exactly how quickly the transformations would happen, so he needed to accomplish two things before then. He needed to convince Tommy to leave with him, without Tommy panicking. Then, he’d need to do a background check on the guy. Maybe not in that order though. So, Tubbo had his work laid out for him, in addition to an invisible due date.


	4. The Art of (Second) Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys are at it again. Backstory pt.2

So, how did Tubbo solve his little problem? Well, he didn’t really solve it. 

The most fortunate unfortunate thing happened at exactly the right time. It’d been a bad day at school. He got a bad grade in his favorite class and someone yelled at him on the way home. He still had to figure out how to get both him and Tommy out of their situation. In other words, Tubbo was like any other teenager, intensely stressed and tired. 

So, he entered the house without a word, walking up to his room silently. He thought too much the next few hours and tried to get through all his homework. Finally, dreaded dinner came. The faster it’s done, the better, Tubbo thought.

So, he went down the stairs. The entire house seemed to be silent, even more so than usual. His footsteps were the only thing he could hear. He wished it would start raining, he’d find that far more peaceful than the ominous quiet in the house that day. His parents were waiting at the table already, the dishes were set out. They weren’t sitting down though, in fact, they were looking right at him. Two cold pairs of eyes met his own and he resisted the urge to freeze in fear. He knew he wasn’t expected to talk, but the silence persisted, the two of them keeping their mouths shut.

That night was the first time Tubbo could remember his dad intentionally hurting him physically. He’d seen it as a long-time-coming. Tubbo knew the last thing his parents were holding onto were his grades. He only had one friend. He didn’t have any impressive skills or talents. He wasn’t even human. And, now, he was nothing besides their son. Maybe he wasn’t even that anymore to them. It did hurt, and he knew that one grade was just a setback, but his parents would never see it that way.

So, the next day, he asked Tommy to go to the hybrid house with him. Maybe Tommy had more questions, but he didn’t like seeing his best friend hurt. Tubbo felt bad, but it was hard to find the right thing to say without upsetting Tommy. Tommy had watched how Tubbo’s parents acted after he changed, Tubbo didn’t want to think about what Tommy’s parents would do. So, they left for Philza's house. They took a smelly, horrible bus. Then, they had to walk, with all their stuff. Their stuff was too easy to get, Tubbo’s parents were still mad at him and Tommy’s were at work late.

From the bus, Tubbo estimated it was around two or three miles, which was a pain in the ass with all the luggage they were carrying. Then, they came across the house. It looked spooky at old at first glance, but enchanting all and all. It was surrounded by a nice forest, filled with squirrels and chirping birds. 

Tommy took initiative, knocking on the door, which oddly enough, had no doorbell. It was an old house, Tubbo thought, so not that odd. It took a good moment or two before they heard someone open the door.

The man, presumably the owner of the house, was confused at first, understandably so, but let them in without questioning them too much. For that, Tubbo was thankful. He, himself, was taken aback when he saw the other man’s huge wings. They certainly were a sight to behold, and he felt a little embarrassed about his own, smaller wings.

The man, Philza, could tell the kids were exhausted. The two were staying in the same room, which meant Tubbo could keep an eye out for Tommy, but it also meant that Tommy would have time to ask him more about why Tubbo had been so insistent on bringing him. But, instead of Tubbo answering, the two ended up just taking a nap, Tubbo saying he would tell Tommy later. Their bags just rested on the floor, next to the bunk bed. The room was almost empty, Tubbo noted. No one had lived in it for a while, but there was no dust in the room.

It was a quick nap, and Philza came to their door telling them that lunch was prepared. He supposed it was already 1 A.M. so about time for lunch. He was a bit surprised that Philza was making them lunch though. It was a kind gesture, and Tubbo was decidedly very happy about it when he could smell it from the stairs. As they ate, Philza explained that he had caught the fish that very morning and that he enjoyed fishing at the lake just underneath the cabin. He was a good conversationalist and even had a tired pair engaged in the topics he’d chosen. 

Then, Philza brought up a more heavy conversation, that Tubbo had been expecting. “Should- should I be concerned about you two’s parents?”

There was a long silence before anyone spoke. “Uh,” Tubbo mumbled. “Two days ago,” once again, it was hard to find the right words. He still believed his parents were good and didn’t want to paint them in a bad light, but he found himself to be honest with the man who was giving both of them a chance. “My dad hit me. He did it because, you know.” Philza looked at the cooked fish, seemingly at a loss for words. “If it’s… it’s that big of a deal, we wouldn’t want you to get into trouble-”

“No, Tubbo. They shouldn’t have hit you. That’s abuse and it’s horrible. I’m sorry that happened to you.” Thank god, Philza decided to lighten up the topics again before he asked about Tommy. Maybe he assumed they were brothers or something. He watched both of the two, still thinking of his friend’s looming fate.

“Us three have one other roommate to share the house with, Technoblade. You probably won’t see him much, he prefers his alone time, hence his not being here. I’m sure you’ll properly meet him eventually, but if you see a guy with pink hair and tusks, that’s him,” Philza informed the both of them. Tubbo hoped the man was nice, at least. 

The rest of the lunch just consisted of them finishing their fish. Philza seemed nice, so he formulated a small plan. Once lunch finished all three got up from the table.

“Hey, Tommy you head back upstairs, I’m going to talk to Philza another moment,” Tubbo said as he pushed his chair in.

“Okay, sure,” Tommy said, giving him a confused look as he left. Tubbo waited until he could hear Tommy closing his door to talk to Philza.

“What’s wrong, Tubbo?” Philza said quietly, understanding the conversation would be more serious.

Tubbo had no reason to hesitate when he spoke this time. “I think Tommy’s going to become a hybrid soon.” He mostly looked at the floor. “His parents are worse than mine too. I wasn’t sure what to do.”

When Tubbo looked up at Philza, he could see the thoughts flying through the man’s head. “You did the right thing. Could I ask, what exactly clued you in?”

“Well, he complained about being itchy and sore. Of course, I thought, oh that’s not bad. But, a month later it only got worse, and that’s what happened before I transformed. So, I got really worried.” He looked out the window. It was hard to talk about, for some odd reason. He was just really worried for his best friend and wasn’t sure if he’d made the right choice yet.

“I think you did the right thing Tubbo.” It was like Philza read his mind. “If your parents,” Philza paused. “If they ever do show up, I won’t let you or Tommy get hurt by them. I promise.” Tubbo wasn’t naive, he knew adults lied, but he felt Philza met it. He wanted to at least.

“Does Tommy know what you think?”

“No,” Tubbo said with a combination of embarrassment and worry.

“It was probably for the best. Doing it while he was still with his parents would’ve been more stress than was needed, and you two got here safely in the end.” Then was the dreaded question. “Do you know how you’re going to tell him, or if?”

Tubbo fidgeted with his shirt’s hem. “I’ve thought about it already. He’s so far from his parents, he’s in a new place, I just don’t want to put more weight on his shoulders.”

Philza knew what to say, even if it was the hard answer. “Don’t you think it would’ve been nice to have someone tell you what was happening before you transformed? Wouldn’t you like to do the same for Tommy?”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I just hope I say the right thing.” He looked up the stairs then back at Philza. 

The trip upstairs was longer than he wanted. It felt long, at the very least. Tommy was on the top bunk, playing on his phone.

“I thought I got the top bunk,” Tubbo complained.

“Nope, finder’s keepers,” was all he got in response.

“So, how’s the constant itch going?” Tubbo laid on his bunk, looking up at Tommy.

“It’s… it’s dying down actually. Not as bad these days.” There was doubt in Tubbo’s mind, as he listened to the other. At the same time, he thought about the possibility of it being true. He might’ve just pulled Tommy away from his normal life and ruined it. What would Tommy’s parents think of him running away? And running away with a hybrid no less? Tubbo pulled out his phone, but didn’t do anything but stare at it. The thought haunted his mind the whole day and through the whole night. Philza had watched him, and he gave a subtle shake of his head, realizing Tubbo didn’t tell Tommy. The man looked sad but accepting of his answer. The crippling fear of being wrong and revealing he’d screwed up Tommy’s life for nothing had overwhelmed him then.


	5. Life Tends to Hurt (A Fucking Lot)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the chapter you've all been waiting for...

Tommy had a lot to think about that day. Life was unraveling around him.

That night, Tommy watched Tubbo’s silence carefully. The man was acting odd, which Tommy first passed off as Tubbo’s stress and worry about uprooting his life, not to mention what his parents had done. He couldn’t get those moments out of his head, that swarmed with questions of its own. What did Tubbo say to Philza after Tommy left the lunch table? Maybe it was something to do with being a hybrid, Tommy pondered. He looked like he knew a lot about it, so he was the perfect person to ask. Then, Tubbo asked about Tommy's persistent itchiness. Tommy, figuring Tubbo had enough on his mind, told him a simple white lie. Tubbo was silent after that, for the rest of the day too.

The sun rose beautifully out his window that morning, and the boy found himself in want of the wonderful fresh air outside. He was strangely not feeling too sore from the walking they’d done yesterday, so he decided on a small walk through the trees.

No one else was awake yet, it was only 6 A.M. The mysterious Techno had yet to show up, and Philza mentioned that Techno might want to stay away from the kids for a while to readjust to the house’s changes before introducing himself. He saw no Philza or Techno downstairs and figured they were both asleep or something.

The outside was quite magnificent. Different colored leaves scattered the floor, and morning birds sang to one another up in the branches. He watched the floor as he walked, thinking about the future. It was a lot to think about, overwhelming honestly, but it was at least comforting out here. He had to look out for both him and Tubbo, he felt. He knew Tubbo could protect himself most of the time, but that didn’t mean Tommy didn’t feel like he should keep the other safe and happy. He knew Tubbo felt the same for him.

The two would need school, education, and all that shit. Tommy wasn’t looking forward to that at all. He could always look at nearby schools, but that was only one possibility. The only problem was that he didn’t know of any other options yet. He would have to look into some when he got back to the old house. 

He was around 15 minutes away from the house when he felt the soreness in his back again, but worse. It was normally just a little itchy, something he could deal with. This hurt. He froze, rubbing his neck, and wincing. He started marching back towards the house, wanting to go back immediately, but it steadily got worse. By the time he arrived at the door, he felt like he had to lie down.

When he opened their door, Tubbo sat up like he’d already been awake.

“Where were you?” So he had then.

“I was just taking an early morning nap, but-” suddenly Tommy winced again, losing his balance and almost tripping. Tubbo sprang up but looked unsure of what to do. “Okay, so the whole itching thing, yeah. That’s still happening, but it’s worse now.” He felt his head, rubbing it, it’d been sore too, along with his tailbone.

“Tommy, listen to me.” Tommy looked into his friend’s eyes, surprised at how serious they were, but he didn’t have time to think much before Tubbo spoke again. “I was thinking this,” Tubbo took a gulp of air. “Tommy, I think you’re a hybrid.”

Tommy paused, before feeling more pain. “Shit, ow! Fuck!” A beating headache started, hammering in his brain. “A hybrid, but…” Tommy had nothing to say. The only thing in his mind was the awful pain that rested on him and in him. “Does that mean, I’m transforming now, changing?”

Tubbo nodded and scooped his friend up in a hug. He lowered Tommy into his bed, letting him sit and fidgeting some more. Should he get Philza, or would Tommy want to be alone? He was so grateful Tommy was there when he was transforming.

“Should I stay?”

“I think you should, please Tubbo. It hurts so much.” His friend started crying, which didn’t happen very often. The last time it happened was when Tommy realized Tubbo couldn’t come to his house anymore. Tubbo pulled Tommy’s head into him and hugged him as hard as possible.

“Do you think I should get Philza? He surely knows more about this than me.” Tommy was quite beside his sniffling for a while.

“Yeah, yeah, you should. I think he’ll know what to do.” So, Tubbo ran to Philza’s room as quick as he could, but it felt like he was running as slow as a snail attached to weights. 

\------

Tommy realized he was alone then. His friend was nowhere in sight. Logically, he was only a room or two away, but it didn’t matter. Tommy clutched his head and groaned in pain. How long did it take Tubbo for the actual change to start happening? A few minutes or an hour? Tommy just wanted it to be done. Nothing mattered besides that very moment. 

And there it was. A piercing pain flew through his skin, to two spots on his head. He screamed, as much as he hated to admit it, and the two came in at that second. Tubbo was looking frightened as the kid before him, while Philza looked sympathetic, yet determined. The older of them approached him slowly.

“Tommy, can you speak? Shake your head if you can’t.” So, shake his head Tommy did. His fingers circled on the two areas in pain, and Philza took notice. “Okay, are those the two spots that hurt?” Tommy nodded in response. “Got it.” Philza looked back at Tubbo then back to Tommy. “There isn’t much we can do besides keep you as comfortable as possible. The time for these transformations can vary greatly, so I’ll grab some snacks and water.” 

Sometime after Philza left, Tommy lowered his hand to find blood. Tubbo inched closer, looking with him. “I think you’ve got something there. Like my antennas. You probably won’t be a bee or anything, but we’ll have matching head appendages, right?” Tommy would have laughed if he wasn’t in so much pain, so instead, he nodded.

Philza returned soon, with a whole platter of things. “I wasn’t sure what snacks you like, so I just got them all. I hope you don’t mind.” Again, Tommy would’ve laughed. 

Tubbo spoke up. “Philza, he’d got something coming in on his head, two things actually, like me.”

“Interesting, you two will be matching.” Tommy tried smiling but winced yet again. 

“Fuck!” He shouted again, feeling something poking out. It wasn’t far out enough to tell what it was, but he wished the other two weren’t trying to guess or whatever. “Can you two stop?” It came out softer than he wanted it to, and it made him cringe.

“Sorry, Tommy,” Tubbo said, watching his friend again. This time in an understanding way.

“I can leave if you want, I don’t have any more advice,” Philza said, looking unsure.

“You can stay, old man,” Tommy mumbled. “As long as you’re a little quieter.”

“Got it.” They sat there for a long while. The moments were only split by Tommy screaming or groaning or cringing. He kept his hands on his head the whole time, trying to massage around the points. Whatever it was, it was pointy, like horns.

Then, Technoblade popped in. “Holy shit,” he said, stopping in his tracks. Philza held up a finger to his lips. “Should I stay or-” he motioned to the door he was standing in front of. Philza looked to Tubbo, who looked to Tommy.

“Should Technoblade-” Tommy was tired and frustrated. All the talking, it just felt like more pain.

“I don’t care! Just shut up!” He hated that he was crying in front of all these people, but he didn’t want to throw them out. It felt wrong. They’d all gone through the same thing at one point, after all. 

They went silent for longer this time. His horn grew, big enough for the others to see, at least, but Tommy’s eyes could only meet the floor. His hands and fingers were covered with blood, and his face was wet and snooty. He looked like a wreck, in short.

That, of course, couldn’t be the end. His aforementioned tailbone was doing the same. He groaned in frustration again.

“Fuck! Guys, the same things happening to my tailbone.”

“It’ll be okay Tommy. Do you want a drink of water before it gets bad again?” Tommy obliged, taking the water out of Philza’s hand and taking a swig. It felt nice and refreshing but wasn’t comfortable for long.

He started crying again, not even noticing he’d stopped in the first place. It was a similar process. The pain shooting through him, rendering him helpless and weak. He was bleeding again, and it was so much. It was too much, the noise, the pain, the fear. 

The room was emptied without him noticing. All that was left was Tubbo. It took an hour for his tail to grow, ending with a bloody bed, and Tommy falling asleep.


	6. But We Must Keep Living (No Matter How Much)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A casual day, after that whole mess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me releasing the chapter: yeah it’s really cool that the readers are trying to guess what tommy’s hybrid side is. I’m going to go read the part where i explicitly state what his hybrid side is to make sure it is satisfactory since everyone seems hyped
> 
> The part where i explicitly state what his hybrid side is:
> 
> Me: oh no
> 
> yeah so i speedrun rewrote part of this chapter last minute lol

Philza had quite an overwhelming day, along with everyone else in the house.

He’d left Tubbo alone with Tommy. Neither he nor Techno could help any further, and figured Tommy needed some silence. When Tubbo told him about Tommy, he didn’t expect the kid to transform the next day, much less so painfully. Philza was aware that, depending on what a hybrid’s non-human part is, the change could be more or less painful. It’d just been knowledge he’d collected in passing, but then, he’d really understood. With his wings, sure there was a little blood and pain, but he only yelped a little. 

It was frustrating to only be able to watch as the child went through that much pain. Techno was still very stand-off-ish after that, but he seemed tired too.

Philza made lunch for them all, as it was far past breakfast time. He decided on basic grilled cheese sandwiches for them all, thinking it might make them feel more at home, in a good way. He brought it up to the teenagers and saw Tommy asleep on the bunk. Tubbo thanked him but kept his eyes on Tommy the whole time. Philza had to admit, it wasn’t often two hybrids coincidently became friends before they both transformed. Hybrids were far rarer than humans after all. They both had gotten somewhat lucky in the friend department, maybe to make up for their parents.

\------

Techno had watched Tommy change, and memories come flashing back. He’d dealt with his transformation on his own, but it wasn’t nearly as painful-looking as Tommy’s. Maybe it was. Techno had a hard time reading people sometimes. 

He had no idea what it was like for the others, but he was a bloody mess when it happened to him. The day it happened, he dismissed it at first, even knowing he was a hybrid. Then, he went to the bathroom after realizing his mouth was bleeding. From then on, it was blinding and crippling pain. The memories after a certain point were fuzzy and indiscernible.

Time passed quickly in that house. Techno had even taken it upon himself to join one of Philza’s fishing trips once. Maybe, he was getting too attached to the other residents of that house, he thought. To be fair, at the rate Philza was gathering hybrids, he’d have a new person to become acquainted with within a week or two.

On one odd day, Techno had been interrupted from his reading by a curious and nosey Tommy. 

“Hey, Techno,” the kid said very loudly, looking at the books on the shelf. “Would ya’ mind if I asked a few questions about hybrids and shit?”

Techno grunted in response and gave a small nod.

“So, like, What am I, hybrid wise?”  
“There’s no saying, it’s just something you’ve gotta figure out yourself, or decide. But if it’s anything to go by, I’d say an imp or demon or something of the sort. You’re certainly annoying enough to be an imp hybrid.”

“Yeesh, Technoblade. Thanks a lot,” Tommy said, knowing Techno didn’t really find him too annoying. It was more playful banter than mean. “Are a lot of hybrids, like, mythical creatures or something?”

“They’re more common. Hybrids based on real animals, like Tubbo, are actually rarer. Hybrids of mythical creatures are the source of all those legends and myths.” Techno seemed actually invested in this, so Tommy nodded, signally he wanted Techno to continue. “It’s theorized that all the mythical hybrids actually had powers at some point, and then down the genetic line, they faded significantly.” After a moment or two of silence, Tommy determined he should continue with his barrage of questions.

“What else is gonna happen to me now that I’m a hybrid?”

Techno sighed. It wasn’t his favorite conversation. “Nothing else is going to change.”

“So being a hybrid is just a physical thing then now, without all the powers? Why does everyone make such a big deal out of it then?” The boy was pondering out loud. His eyes glanced over the books as if looking for the one with the best title font.

“Well, no, but you don’t change.” Tommy’s eyes flicked over to him, suddenly interested. “There are small attributes you get from being a hybrid from birth.” It was hard for a lot of people to conceptualize that because they’d ‘transformed’ when in reality, it was only their body matching their genetics. “For some, those attributes can be heightened, but they were always there.”

“What’d you have, big man?” Techno hummed in confusion. “Like, hybrid attributes?”

Techno took his eyes off him and looked back at his book. “I don’t want to talk about them.”

And that was the end of that.

\--------

Philza entered the living room and was slightly surprised by the sight. Techno and Tommy were sitting next to each other, and Tommy was being quiet. Techno was reading some old military strategy book, as usual, and Tommy was looking at one of the zines Philza’d gotten in Chinatown. It was one of Philza’s favorites. He smiled, but didn’t say a word, and didn’t try to alert them to his presence in the kitchen.

Soon, the dinner table was called. Over the last couple of days, they had a little meeting about dinners. All of them joined together to decide who would cook dinner when. Breakfasts and lunches were being made by individuals now unless anyone offered to do it. Philza thanked Techno wordlessly for that one, giving him a little smile and nod. Tommy and Tubbo somehow convinced the other two they could cook, and oddly made a few good meals.

This dinner was another one of Philza’s, but it’d been an easy, but highly requested one. It slightly disgusted Philza, but they all wanted microwaved hotdogs and macaroni and cheese for some reason. The youngest pair insisted it was excellent and the peek of cooking, and Techno called it ‘good’, which was honestly high praise from him.

“Hey, hey,” Tommy piped up. “What are your ‘hybrid attributes’, Philza Minecraft?” They’d started calling him that after they discovered his affinity for Minecraft, an interest they all shared, strangely enough. “Wait, what kind of bird are you in the first place?”

“That’s true, I didn’t even think to ask,” Tubbo said, enthusiastically.

Philza looked down at his plate. It wasn’t embarrassing, more just plain awkward to explain. “Well, I’m not sure, at all, but I’ve asked a few people and they’ve said I’m like an angel hybrid or something.” Everyone was silent for a moment, but it was broken quickly enough.

“So, you’re like my opposite,” Tommy said while butchering the word opposite.

“Um, I don’t know if I’d say that.”

“Well, your letter did seem a little preachy,” Techno mumbled.

“That’s true,” Tommy and Tubbo said at the same time.

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” The other three at the table burst out laughing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah.  
> hope you all enjoyed <3


	7. Experiences That Shape Us (and Carve into Our Minds)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School's shit.

School was shit, Tommy decided.

It was only Tommy and Tubbo’s first day, but things were already going bad, of course. Philza had insistent they went to school, and Tommy did understand to a certain extent. However, it was times like then that Tommy wanted to punch the inventor of school in the face. 

The day was going pretty smoothly until gym class, if not a little boring. He’d just met up with Tubbo for lunch, so he was quite cheery, for school, that is. Tommy had yet to have a good conversation with any of his peers, and Tubbo hadn’t either, so they just ate lunch alone. Tommy was dreading gym though. It’d never been his favorite subject, but to be fair, he didn’t have a favorite subject. 

When he arrived, the gym teacher just introduced himself and handed Tommy a spare uniform. It smelled horrible, as one might expect, just like the locker room. Everyone in the room was human, except him, which he expected. It was just odd, he hadn’t been surrounded by humans since he transformed. The boys were rowdy, talking about something that’d happened at the school before, so Tommy didn’t feel like he could join in. Instead, he silently threw his shirt over himself and put on his pants.

The boys slowly filtered out, one after another. Tommy got out fast enough so he wasn’t the last one, and sat on the ground with the other kids. The teacher assigned them something simple, the mile run. Tommy could do that easily, and he enjoyed the outside. Maybe he could even make friends with someone. It was something that annoyed kids at his old school, his ability to run while holding a steady conversation.

He caught up to the kids in the middle. He might’ve been able to get further up, but he didn’t want to show off. He always thought the kids at the front were assholes, even when they weren’t flaunting their athletic ability. Thankfully, as soon as he’d perfectly adjusted to their pace, someone started the conversation for him.

“Hey, you’re the new kid, right?” 

“Hey, I’m Tommy,”

“Well, I’m Tyler,” said the fellow blond. “Did you move here recently?”

“Yeah, just a few weeks ago,” Tommy said, realizing just how long it’d been since he left.

“Yeah, I’ve never moved.” 

“I hadn’t before that either.” 

“So,” the man said. “What’s it like, being a hybrid?”

Tommy pondered over the question for a second. “Well, life hasn’t changed too much. You know, people on the street just stare at you more than usual and sometimes yell at you. But, still, not much else besides the extra body parts, and shit.”

Tyler nodded. “So, like, what are you supposed to be?”

“Being a hybrid doesn’t come with a manual or anything. So, I don’t know.” Tommy knew what he thought he was, but it was an embarrassing subject matter if he was honest. 

They chatted the rest of the run but didn’t talk about hybrids or humans at all past that. Tommy thought they were getting along well enough, but he couldn’t see the man as more than an acquaintance. His hobbies were bland and he was just a good conversationalist. To be fair, it was hard to stand next to Tubbo and their great friendship. They all did smaller laps when they completed it just for fun, but then all went back to the locker room. 

Tommy did have to walk away from Tyler to get his stuff, although he would’ve kept talking to the man. As he turned his shirt the right way out, he glanced over to Tyler, who was talking with his friends. The group laughed, and Tyler pointed in his direction. Fuck. Tommy just kept changing and tried to ignore them, but Tommy couldn’t help but feel hurt. He’d sincerely thought Tyler was a nice person, though, clearly he’d been wrong. Had he started talking to Tommy in the first place just to mock him later with his friends? He just wanted to go home then.

His last few classes dragged forever, but he didn’t pay attention to any of them. It just sucked. He wondered if Tubbo had gone through anything similar at their old school. This was probably a normal thing that happened to hybrids, and he’d just have to live with it now.

Finally, the last bell rang, and Tommy raced out to where he knew Tubbo would be. It took longer than Tommy had expected for Tubbo to show up, and he saw Tyler walking in the distance. He looked down at his phone anxiously and tapped his foot, waiting impatiently. 

Eventually, he heard his friend walk up to him and flicked his head up to look. Tubbo looked happy, at least, if not a bit concerned.

“Hey, Tommy, you okay? You don’t look well,” Tubbo mumbled, as they started walking towards the house. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just a bad first day,” Tommy said back. Tubbo took a second.

“You… you wanna talk about it?”

“I don’t know. Uh, did- did people start treating you differently after you became a hybrid?” Tommy looked to his best friend, then back at the ground, kicking a pebble.

“Only a few people, and it wasn’t too bad. Did someone say something to you? Is there someone we’ll have to beat up together?”

“No, no, Tubbo. Someone was just being a little bitch, they didn’t even say anything to my face so it’s fine.”

“Well, they sound like huge pricks that you shouldn’t spend your time on, so that’s a good plan of action.”

They changed the topic to how Tubbo’s day went and got to the house quickly. The school wasn’t wildly far from their house like most of the other schools around there were, which was one of the reasons they chose the school. Philza had consulted on it too, but just to give advice and make sure they didn’t do anything too crazy.

They got back to a silent house, which was very good to Tommy. As much as he felt dumb, he did do homework right when he got home, which made him sound more responsible than he was. Tubbo settled down next to him, and the two worked for the next hour or two.

\-------

It’d been a while since someone had taken a serious interest in Philza’s letter. He didn’t mind though, his hands were already full enough. Then again, he wouldn’t mind another house member. At first, the dinners had been hard to make constantly, but the dinner schedule made things so much easier. It was certainly much easier to focus on other things than shifting around his schedule.

The kids seemed to be having an easy time at school, at least their first few days. The first day, Tubbo seemed to watch over Tommy more than usual, but Philza figured if they needed him, they’d tell him what happened. 

Through the last week, Techno and Tommy had made dinner together. Tubbo was working on a big project and Techno surprisingly offered to take his place. He’d mumbled something about the school system being ‘BS’, before helping Tommy set things up. They did seem to get along somewhat, but there was a lot of chaos involved. Philza was least to say, very entertained hearing them from the living room where he had meant to start reading a new book.

After dinner one day, he’d logged on to his computer to receive another message. Another person was interested in the place and was seemingly serious about it. Philza figured since he’d adjusted well enough to the others that another resident wouldn’t be much trouble. It’s not like the man could turn someone away anyway. They’d discussed it a little that night, and the person already said they’d start traveling in the morning but said it might take a couple of days. 

It wasn’t too odd. Tommy and Tubbo had traveled overnight on a bus, after presumably having traveled all day, so he understood. It didn’t seem as urgent as the younger two’s messages, which relieved him of some of his stress. Philza looked out his window at the trees and pondered how many residents he’d get. He couldn’t say that he didn’t enjoy knowing he was helping out the kids, guess that’s his angel side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mediocre and one of my least favorites in this series, but that is okay, because I really love the next chapter and it turned out to be like 2,500+ words because I couldn't stop writing. So get hyped folks


	8. Growing up Alone (Surrounded by People)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *siren noises* angst alert! angst alert! Also new member...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i forgot how much angst is in this chapter, so   
> TW: mention of implied suicide thoughts (not from the pov of this chapter's main character though)
> 
> in this chapter, i try speedrunning dating the ocean by describing it in depth for about a million words   
> mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ocean babby----- *does radio rebel hair push thing*
> 
> last note i swear:  
> My little greek mythology brain realizing i can teach everyone about how sirens were actually originally bird woman: 0.o

The ocean shore was such a beautiful and calming place at dawn. 

In the distance, Wilbur heard the crashing of the waves, and between his feet, he felt the texture of the sand. He’d once found it off-putting, but now it felt familiar and comforting. Light tilted off the waves and reflected off his sunglasses. He could smell the salt better and better as he approached the water rolling further up the beach.

Since he’d changed, he came to the ocean more often. He figured it would be appropriate, being part siren and all. 

Wilbur had always lived by the beach. Both his parents had been big names at some point or another. Things had changed though, as things often do. What didn’t change, was the beach he could always look out at. His parents were constantly stressed or arguing, or sleeping. Wilbur had tried to help when he noticed at first, but his attempts were quickly waved away by his parents. Money was no object until it was. Which was just more fuel to the fire. Soon, divorce was on the table, and Wilbur was pretty sure he would have to up and move since the money was literally being cut in half. 

In other news, at least it wasn’t when Wilbur was changing. No, this was several years earlier. He learned about so much during this era of his life. He learned different meanings of the words love, money, forever, and happiness. His parents didn’t love each other anymore. Money was a hard thing to come by, and it could leave just as fast as it came. His parents, they’d promised to stay with each other forever, but more importantly, they’d both promised to stay with him forever. He learned people could be very unhappy, for long periods of time. 

When he left, when his parents split, he was taken by his mom. Not that there was anything wrong with his dad, but that’s just how guardianship worked in courts. His mom worked a temporary job, at least she said it was temporary. Wilbur said repeatedly he didn’t care how much money she made, but, she thought, could a ten-year-old understand the concept of finances? She kept it until Wilbur left, she even got a second one, despite Wilbur’s insistence they didn’t need to make more money than they already were.

Wilbur didn’t have any desire to buy anything, and on the rare occasion he did, he would always feel guilty about it. He guessed it wasn’t about him though. His mom had always been fortunate when it came to money and struggled to live without large sums of it. He got a job too, from a friend of his mom, and bought a guitar for himself on his twelfth birthday. Half his money went to his mom though, it always did. 

He was sure she was holding onto it for later. He had other things to worry about. He was a kid who went to school for eight hours a day and then had to go to a three-hour job every weekday. So, it was the weekend, two weeks after his birthday. He was coming home from his friends and it was raining outside. Wilbur thought of his dad’s silly superstitions, rain was a bad omen, he believed. His mom was against the idea of anything beyond science, she would’ve just been thankful she didn’t have to water her garden again. Wilbur wasn’t sure about it yet. It did feel nice, and it watered the plants as his mom said, so how could it be a bad thing?

He thought about it as he hung up his coat. He was going to go work on his homework, or just fuck around online, but he heard a distant crying. His mom, he thought. His mom didn’t cry often. 

He slipped off his soggy shoes and lightly walked across the hardwood floors. She was in her bedroom, likely unaware her son was home. He gave the door a light knock, and the crying suddenly ceased. That night was wordless. They hugged for a while, and she made dinner when it finally came time.

The days got harder, not for him, for his mom. He was perfectly fine, and it was starting to make him feel like shit. He still texted his dad every once in and a while, because he hadn’t done anything wrong. Sometimes, Wilbur wondered if he did though, or if his mom did. He wouldn’t put it past her to lie to him, for his sake. He thought a lot about it over the next few months.

His mom drank as much as anyone else did. She drank as much as the people on the TV, most of the time. He understood to a certain extent. He knew alcohol relieved stress or something, and that his mom was a very stressed person most of the time. He didn’t like the smell of it at all. So, he left the house more, he thought his mom would enjoy alone time anyway. She didn’t.

“Wilbur, do you think I’m a bad mom?” The answer was no. Of course, the answer was no. She was doing the best she could. He thought about his dad, though, and always with guilt. He didn’t want to want to see his dad, but at the end of the day, maybe the answer was actually yes.

That night was bad, worse. It was hard. She was looking at wedding photos. Wilbur wanted to leave the house again. 

One day, a while later, Wilbur was on a little field trip. It was in the same city as his father, in fact. He’d visited his dad once or twice since the divorce, and gradually, the texts faded. He didn’t want to ask his mom, she needed to stay as well as possible, and Wilbur tended to put that above his feelings. So, he did go out of his way to grab a bus after his field trip ended. His mom didn’t need to know, and his friends weren’t snitches. 

He took the stinky bus, almost as smelly as his house was now-and-days. It was crowded and loud. The outside was welcome that day. It dropped him off near a park, about a block or two away, luckily. His sneakers scuffed against the ground, and Wilbur found himself to be nervous. It had been a little over a year after all.

Two years, when he turned the corner, he saw the result of two years. He looked over the fence gate, and he saw his father. He saw, over that gate, a family. His dad was surrounded by them, his family. A lovely woman, kissing his cheek, and a baby on her hip. There was even a smaller kid there, maybe a kid from the woman’s earlier relationship of her own. There was a pang of jealousy in Wilbur. Maybe, that day, he had a brilliant revelation. Maybe, he felt a pang of jealousy for a kid with a parent who thought about their kids, not their ex-spouse. He felt jealousy as if he was his mom. How is it fair? Why wasn’t she able to get over it and move on, as he so clearly did?

It hurt.

It was hard to look at his mom after that. He felt guilty because every time he looked at her, he wished she was different. He loved her so much, he just wished she would throw the wedding photos away already.

Wilbur’s thirteenth birthday rolled around and his mom forgot. Wilbur didn’t act hurt. He went out with his friends and spent his own money on it. He had fun. Then, he went home, there she was again, sitting on the couch crying. Wilbur walked out of the room or at least tried to.

“Wilbur, wait. Can you sit down for a moment?” Would she tell him a happy birthday? Was she going to give him a birthday present, or just a hug? Maybe she was going to announce she was going to stop thinking about Wilbur’s dad out of the blue? That’d be the best present he could imagine, which was a sad thing for a thirteen-year-old to have to wish for.

“I- today, I got laid off.” Wilbur frowned. “I lied, I’m so sorry.” She leaned in for a hug, and Wilbur accepted with slight confusion. He held his tongue. “I got laid off- both jobs.” Wilbur felt like crying himself. Screw it, he was crying. “I got laid off the first one a few months ago. The second one was today.”

They sat there for a while. Would Wilbur have his job anymore? Was his boss a friend from her work? Had she offended them? Would they have any source of money?

His mom fell asleep in his arms. Wilbur hated her at that moment. It was the kind of hatred that a teenager would feel if their mothers had sent them up to their room or grounded them. Wilbur found that to be an adequate comparison. The next day, he would cook breakfast for them, and she’d ask how yesterday’s school day went, even though it was Sunday. Wilbur didn’t care, he’d just tell her what he’d done with his friends. And that was how things went, they were two predictable creatures.

A few months passed, and his mom found a new job. Wilbur kept his and started seriously saving. His mom, she’d gotten calmer, not happier, but she got calm. She would be sleeping, instead of drinking when he got home. It was good, Wilbur thought. Until it wasn’t.

Wilbur learned to listen to his mother’s crying and in turn everything else. He’d come home from dinner with friends that particular night. They’d stayed out later than normal, for a concert one of his friend’s siblings was playing at. It ended at nine-thirty, and he got home at about ten. 

He heard something in the house, he heard talking. His mom was sitting and talking on the phone, conversing with someone in a hushed whisper. It was odd. His mom was having a hard time making friends, so he didn’t have any idea who she was talking with. Wilbur took a step towards the threshold of the kitchen.

She was crying, softly. It was the first thing he noticed. 

“Sir, I don’t- I don’t…” She shook her head slightly. Wilbur felt his gut tell him to look away as if he wasn’t meant to hear or see this. And he wasn’t, he knew this, but it didn’t matter, because, at the end of the day, he did hear it. “I have a son! But it’s just so hard.” Wilbur winced, whatever important thing she was talking about, she’d mentioned him first. “I don’t think things are ever going to get better. Everything is just going. It feels like the world is leaving without me, and I don’t know- I don’t know how to catch it.”

That was one of the last days he saw his mom. Several days later, Wilbur came home to a social worker waiting at his doorstep. Eventually, he learned that that day, his mom had tried to kill herself. It was a crushing thought. She did call last minute because she wanted to live, to apologize to her son, or maybe say goodbye. It felt cheap to him, like something that would happen in a perfect fictional world where the mother is redeemed. It was at that moment when he decided his mom took it upon herself to leave. It was the only way for his mind to rationalize it at that age.

He was going to his dad’s house, he and his whole family had proven him to be a perfectly good dad. But, Wilbur already knew that. 

He showed up at their door with loaded suitcases and was met with confused faces. The first year was the worst one he would ever have in that house. His dad, his wife, both approached him as if he were glass. The kids were confused and didn’t care much for him. As one might guess, he’d grown into quite the pessimist. 

He’d gone back for his fourteenth birthday and felt like he was behind a window when facing his friends. He missed his mom. Then, after the day had passed he went back to his house as if it’d never happened. Sure, his dad’s family had given him a few stereotypical gifts

He’d taken to playing music in his room most of the day, if not goofing off on his computer. He wasn’t working a job anymore, so he spent his time doing normal teenage things, besides hanging out with friends. He missed them. Their texting would gradually fade, like with his father, who was now right in front of him. He was thankful for his roommates of course, but there would always be a disconnect. A three-year disconnect, or separation, away from his dad, throughout which, everything had changed. His dad still tried to take Wilbur to the beach. He’d forgotten Wilbur didn’t even like the beach. So yeah, almost everything changed.

So, when he got sore and itchy, he dealt with it himself. He didn’t worry too much about himself or his own body. His only allergy was pollen, and he had a wonderful immune system. There was nothing to be concerned about. Then he bled. He bled from his back for a couple of hours. His ‘family’ was out at a baseball game, and he was so grateful to be alone during that time. He had wings from then on.

His father’s wife had tried to be nice and understanding, but she wasn’t built for that. His dad tried as well, and a lot better. Unfortunately, Wilbur held disdain for his father. He hadn’t noticed it before that and he knew it was irrational. The kids mocked him for it, which the adults scolded, but Wilbur knew they didn’t know any better. Kids didn’t have a filter until they got older.

Not much changed. He grew up a loner but always looked at the crowd, wishing he had a few people at his side. At least he had his guitar and his voice. His music teacher praised him for it, and they did become close. Wilbur thought she was the one who knew him the best. She’d gotten him into art school, after all.

So, he moved out. Money was no problem to him. He’d learned to manage it a long time ago and already had job experience. College life was another story. He found himself out of place at parties and had little satisfaction in his school work. It felt selfish, to want to leave college. His guardians had already paid for his first year, so he finished it. Then, he took it upon himself to move away and had found the perfect place to do it. It was some isolated cabin up in the mountain. It looked like it was all hybrids, which wasn’t necessary, but Wilbur did think it was a cool detail.

So, he visited the beach, one last time. He’d started coming there to write music a while ago. Then he started to come, just to walk along the coastline. It became part of his daily routine.

It was windy that day, just how he liked it. He gave it one last serenade before smiling at it. It needed no more than a look, for it to know. It even gave him a wave goodbye, that splashed at his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i make you guys sad successfully?
> 
> theres something about wilbur that just makes my brain so much more mentally ill???


	9. People That Shape Us (and Carve into Our Minds)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably the last thing that could be considered a filter chapter. there's more lighthearted stuff, but they all have more of a structured plot to them that i like

It was late afternoon when Philza heard a knock at his door. The new resident was just about on time to have dinner with everyone and had some extra time to put his stuff down first.

The first thing Philza noticed upon opening the door was the guy’s wings. They were like Philza, but they were smaller and had more of a yellow tint to them, instead of Philza’s pure white ones. Not an angel, then. 

“Wilbur,” the man said, offering his hand. Philza shook it gladly.

“I can show you your room, mate. Once you put all your stuff down, you can join us for dinner, if you want. You arrived just in time.”

“I might just take you up on that offer. Philza, I presume?”

“Yeah, that’s me. The room options have thinned over time, the only two left are the ones at the end of the hall right there. The left and the right are your options, you can choose whichever.”

“Thanks, man. See you in a minute then.” Wilbur turned and wandered down the hall, as Philza made his way down the stairs.

It was Techno’s turn to make dinner that night, leaving no room for error. Techno was a great chef or had at least adapted to be one over time. That night he was making one of Philza’s favorite dinners, stir fry. 

It took several minutes for the younger two to come down to join the three who arrived first, apparently preoccupied with Minecraft. Wilbur and Techno got along well, which meant they were both relatively quiet and didn’t talk much. Wilbur seemed a little bit more animated than Techno and was more expressive, not that it made him better or worse than Techno. He was amused by Tommy and Tubbo’s humor and got along well with Philza. The evening went great. 

It was like the moment Philza had been waiting for when he realized how alone he was. He was surrounded by laughing people, and Philza grinned and laughed along with them.

The next day, after a peaceful night, Philza volunteered to drive the boys into town for a day of shopping. It was the weekend, so Tommy and Tubbo joined, but both Wilbur and Techno stayed behind. Techno complained about school work, and Wilbur was still unpacking, so Philza understood. 

Tubbo mentioned he wanted to get some new school supplies because his stuff was worn out, and he hadn’t bothered to ask his parents for any yet. Tommy complained about his school work the whole time, and Tubbo said he would try to help him with it when they got back. One of their last stops was a little book store.

Tommy pulled Tubbo along to the comic section, which conveniently was right next to the manga section, Philza’s favorite place to be. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the two of them, but maybe, he could see them getting into some sort of trouble. Caused by them, maybe so, maybe not. Whatever, it was reassuring for him to be able to keep an eye on them, or out for them, which every was needed.

Their final stop was at a Mcdonald's. The boys had fervently insisted on it, despite it being wildly unhealthy. On the way back, Tubbo asked about going fishing sometime, which made Philza overjoyed to hear. Tommy thought about it and declared he’d rather go kayaking or something. Philza also thought that was a great idea and mentioned renting some out in the future. Philza pondered what all they could do at the lake, discussing his ideas with the two in his back seats.

Philza took time to himself for the rest of the afternoon, writing some more in his little book. He was struggling to get past his introduction, about what to truly write first. It wasn’t long before he was saved by the bell. The bell being the fact he was on the list to cook dinner that night, and that he didn’t fuck around when it came to mealtime. He’d decided on his pasta, introduced right after a caesar salad. Both Tommy and Wilbur complained, but Philza knew what was needed when it came to nutrients and made sure the boys had some.

Philza suggested they all go down to the lake the next day, and it seemed no one had any other plans. He tried to hide exactly how happy he was but probably failed. It was nice, having them all agree to something. Wilbur backed up the idea of kayaking, and Philza checked the website of the rental shop. Both Techno and Tubbo wanted to go fishing with Philza, and Tubbo even proposed a little competition, to make things fun. Techno, never backing down from a challenge, nodded his head at the idea.

That night, Philza thought more about what he could write about. He thought maybe he could write about the people around him. Maybe he'd ask them, but he felt it would be too invasive. So, he started with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will not miss the opportunity to remind everyone reading this to remember that Philza is a weeb and his mc skin is literally an anime character. No shame to weebs, i just think it’s really funny


	10. (Missing) Brothers and Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot alert!

Wilbur and Tommy climbed into their kayaks, both getting splashed by the rocking of the boats in the process.

“Fuck!” Wilbur’s foot had completely missed the inside of it, and he’d lost his flip flop for a second. The dastardly child next to him cackled at his misfortune, before almost slipping, prompting Wilbur to let out a laugh himself.

“Okay, punk, old man! If you think that’s so fucking funny, I challenge you!” The kid grabbed his paddle high in the air. “I challenge you to a race, Wilbur Soot!”

Wilbur took off immediately. “Hey, hey! I didn’t say fucking go yet, bitch!” Wilbur struggled to keep his eyes on the prize as he roared with laughter. 

The day passed faster than he realized. Before the sun started setting, Philza called them to the cabin, and they all got ready for dinner. It was peaceful today, as everyone was a little worn out. Both Tommy and Tubbo had to go to school tomorrow, and Wilbur genuinely hoped they weren’t too tired or anything.

After clearing and cleaning all the dishes, Wilbur took his leave, wandering to his room. It was nice to be all settled in. The view was nice. He could see plenty of trees, but he could also watch the sun setting, with the way his room was positioned. The sky was drenched in the best colors, and the light slowly faded from the sky. Wilbur fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

\--------

Meanwhile, in a different state, two worried parents talked. It was Tubbo’s parents. Tommy’s parents had had a lot to think about when they found out what their son’s best friend had become. They were still as shitty as ever. 

Tubbo’s parents had been willing to wait it out. A week passed with no sign of their son. Then after two weeks, they started keeping an eye out. Three weeks, then a month. So, yeah, they were getting a little worried.

A month and a week in, they started talking to the police. It took a while to explain in a way that made them sound better than they were. Why hadn’t they talked to the police as soon as they realized their son was missing? So, yeah. It took a longer time than they expected to get through the police officers' questioning. Tubbo’s father wondered if it was really worth it at some point.

So, their son made it onto the missing children list. Not long after, Tommy followed. Things weren’t looking great for the two of them. Nothing to worry about though. It wasn’t like anyone checked those lists after all.

\------

Techno didn’t go out much and he was perfectly fine with that. He would honestly go as far as to say it was more often than not an inconvenience to leave his room. This all comes back to the fact Techno found himself shopping for some food. 

In his time at Philza’s house, he’d grown accustomed to being the best cook in the house. (Yes, that includes Philza himself.) He was trying to gather ingredients for a new recipe he'd found online. It looked rather enjoyable to him, and he thought the others would like it as well.

It’d been a while since the house was quiet for more than a few hours during the day. Now, there always seemed to be something new going on. Not that Techno minded, it was just very different from his house when there was rarely anyone there. There were always four people living with him now, and it was a bit of a readjustment. When he’d lived by himself, he’d had a few basic meals set up for himself, but he felt urged by the others to create better meals. They weren’t inspiration though, more like competition. And he won, of course.

Techno’s impressions so far.  
Tommy- He would start with Tommy, because Tommy created the exception to everyone’s usual behavior. He could make anyone around him more chaotic and rowdy, even Techno. He himself was just that, chaotic and rowdy. He seemed to have been friends with Tubbo for a long while, and constantly defended him, unless he was playfully mocking him.  
Philza- He was the most calm and/or stable one of the house, at least from what Techno had seen from him. He was the kind of guy who had everything figured out. Techno loved all the books, trinkets, and stuff he had in his house from around the world. Techno talked to him about the general status of Earth a lot.  
Tubbo- He was a sweet kid, compared to Tommy. That didn’t mean he wasn’t occasionally a typical teen boy, who set things on fire in Minecraft for fun. He was smart too, and worked around his dyslexia well. He was fascinated with bees, which Techno found ironic. He internally wondered if Tubbo could communicate with dance somehow like bees, but never said anything.  
Wilbur- He was the newest addition, and Techno was still a little unsure about him. At first, he’d been very quiet, but he played along with Tommy’s shit well. He was flexible depending on the situation, Techno determined. His assessment was still up for change, as Wilbur had only been there three days, but he was sure it had some standing.

It didn’t take him too long to come back to the house. He dropped his stuff off in the kitchen, putting everything exactly where it needed to go, before turning towards the stairs. The new one, Wilbur was walking down the stairs.

“Oh, hey Techno.” The man’s voice was a little off. Techno waited for Wilbur to continue his thought. “Not to sound weird or anything, but I was looking at random missing person lists, and we have a problem.” Before Techno could comment on how weird it was that Wilbur was checking random missing person lists, Wilbur flipped around his phone to face Techno. He instantly recognized both Tubbo and Tommy’s faces on the screen.

“Have you told Philza?” He would know what to do, surely.

“He's out of the house, most likely in town. For now, I think we just need to keep those two in the house.” Wilbur looked up to the room of the two hooligans, and back at Techno. “I don’t know how much more we’ll be able to do about this. It’ll be a shitshow for Philza if he's found with two missing children in his house.”

“Yeah. Inviting those two in was not the smartest move of his. It was one of his kindest though. Not a lot of people would’ve done that.”

“Thank the god above for Philza, yeah.” Wilbur laughed at the irony of that statement, with the man’s angel side and all. “It shouldn’t be much of a problem after they turn eighteen though. Then, I think their parents lose custody of them or something. They just can’t say they were with Philza all that time.”

“Dude, how the fuck do you know so much about the legal system, and why were you looking at random missing person lists again?”

“Hey,” Wilbur said sharply, but jokingly. “We all have some sort of dreadful past. Mine is private, for now.”

“For now?”

“Yes, it takes level five friendship to unlock my backstory.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don’t really follow up on this in the actual story, so i figured i would put it off the side if anyone was curious about it. Wilbur checks the missing person’s list to see if his mother’s on there, as you might have guessed. It’s not strictly defined in my mind, but he could be worried about her doing something dangerous of being taken advantage of because of her mental state and actually disappearing, or *brief TW for suicide* killing herself, while still living alone and no one bothering to check her house.


	11. (Missing) Brothers and Friendship: The More Serious Reprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shopping trip... but sad

Tommy dreaded trips into town now and days. He didn’t have anything to buy, so more often than not, if he went into town, it was because someone else was dragging him there. 

This time, he was out at some fishing store with Techno to buy supplies for Philza. Tommy couldn’t recall exactly why Philza couldn’t come, instead of listening, he was thinking about how much he’d rather be playing Minecraft. And that was precisely why Philza sent Tommy and Techno. Wilbur had been there for less than a week, and Tubbo voluntarily left the house with Philza on occasion. What could Tommy say? You can’t blame the man for loving Minecraft.

Philza had left the list to Techno, which was a very good idea. It wasn’t Tommy’s fault, but he did tend to lose things accidentally, (or on purpose). Both Tommy and Tubbo objected to this, but really, the two were denying facts. It’d been most obvious to Philza when Tommy asked him how to get a second student ID because he’d lost his. He’d only had it for three days.

So, now they were in some stinky fish store.

“Ew, are there live worms in there?” Tommy looked at a little circular container labeled ‘earthworms’.

“Yes, Tommy. That’s how fishing works.” The man said blankly. 

The walls were lined with all sorts of fishing rods. A lot of them were plain, but some had fun neon colors painted on. Tommy didn’t think he’d like fishing. Philza had called it a ‘waiting game’ and Tommy could admit he was pretty impatient. Also, worms were gross.

“Uh, Tommy.”

“Yeah, Techno,” Tommy responded, looking towards the man. It had been a relatively fast trip. Apparently, not that much was needed to fish. Techno was chilling at the register already.

“I forgot my wallet in the car, can you grab it for me?” Tommy grabbed the keys at the last moment when Techno threw them and turned to walk out the door.

“Sure, Techno.”

It was far too sunny outside, and Tommy thought maybe he should get sunglasses the next time he went shopping. Today, he wasn’t really in the mood, and he didn’t think Techno would want to go to some other shop. It was a weekday (after school), so there were few cars around. There was one in the parking lot of the fishing shop, which was odd. No one else was inside the shop.

He heard the car door open slowly, and oh shit.

“Tommy?” The voice was familiar, almost hopeful, but at the same time, it was the last voice Tommy wanted to hear. It’d been at least a month since he’d seen her. Has it been more? He didn’t know. He wasn’t keeping track. So, he looked towards the woman.

“Mom?”

It was. It was his mom. Her hand rested on the side of the car door. It just stayed there unclosed as she gripped it. 

“Tommy, what-” she didn’t finish her sentence. She sounded hurt, and Tommy knew why. “Did- did, um-” She wasn’t even looking at him anymore. At the ground, at the sky, she looked anywhere besides her fucking son. It hurt him. He wasn’t even sure who was hurting more at that point. “Are you okay, at least?”

“I’m fine, Mom.” And he was. “Things are great, certainly better than they would’ve been if I was at home.” It was bitter, and he’d meant it to be. Changing had been hell, even when he was surrounded by people who cared. He couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like with the two who had raised him.

“That’s good. Tommy,” she paused. “Maybe then, you’ll stay out here?” That hurt even more. Even if he did want to go home for some odd reason, he wouldn’t be welcomed. Fourteen years, out the window.

“Yeah, I will. I fucking will, Mary.” She didn’t deserve to be called Mom anymore. She looked away, but then looked right behind Tommy.

“This lady giving you trouble, Tommy?” Tommy turned around to meet Techno’s face.

“No, no. She was just leaving.”

Mary looked at him one last time, with some sort of sorrow. Tommy didn’t know why, he was perfectly happy. “Bye, Tommy.” He stood still for a while, watching her stupid car drive farther and farther away. Techno stood behind him as the car disappeared somewhere in the distance. Tommy became aware he was crying at that moment.

“Can I give you a hug, kid?” Tommy nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He did miss his mom. He missed his parents, and his house, and his hometown. He was just a kid after all.

Arms enveloped his body, and they stood still some more. Tommy buried his head into Techno’s chest, just waiting out the tears and heavy breathing. “Do you miss your parents, Techno?”

“At a certain point, the idea of parents became foreign to me. You learn to live without them if you have to. I think it’ll be easier for you though.” Tommy looked out to Techno, who was looking at something in the distance. “You have friends to lead you through that and help you along the way. Make no mistake, I am one of those friends Tommy.” And Tommy smiled and did an internal fistbump to himself. Techno’s friendship seemed hard to come by, and Tommy was glad as shit he had it.

The rest of the day was mellow. The two drove back home in peaceful silence, only the radio made noise. Tommy watched the beautiful countryside roll past as they drove close to the mountains on the horizon. There were trees of all kinds on the mountainside, kinds Tommy had never seen before. He couldn’t tell the difference, but he thought maybe one day he’d like to. It was strange, looking down the mountain and into the valley. He could see a stream so far down, at the very bottom. Little things like that would always keep him occupied in those rides.

It didn’t take very long to get back. The house felt so safe, compared to his old one. He involuntarily grinned at the house, no, the home, as he walked through the threshold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very fitting, because my parents have announced they are going to be bitches and violate my personal space and boundaries. Not as bad as what happens in this chapter, but still very sad. I can only hope they completely forget they ever tried to do this, funnily enough, like every other time they've tried to regulate something that doesn't really need to be regulated in my life. They've literally told me they would do this exact thing before, yet here I am, listening to them tell me the exact same thing. I know my dad probably came up with the idea in question because my mom never really enforces these things and she's actually around me most of the time. 
> 
> I hope you all are having a better day than me lmao. Consider leaving a kudos
> 
> This is out early because I have to go watch a movie with the motherfuckers and I don't know when I'll be back to my computer.


	12. We Are Young (and Filled With Dreams)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is techincally the last filler, still i hope you all enjoy

As much as he hated it, hearing Tommy’s parents didn’t care where he was, was sort of a relief. That was one less child he could be accused of kidnapping in his house.

Philza was sitting around reading with the other residents surrounding him. It was one of those rare occasions again, where everyone was in the living room together. They were chattering about Minecraft, it was the one thing they all had in common, so Philza didn’t blame them. They were arguing about which version of the game was the best so far. Philza personally was very in love with the most recent caves and cliffs update. Both the axolotls and wardens were very intriguing mobs, and the ginormous caverns were not only beautiful but very useful as well.

He worked on sorting the books, only half paying attention to what the boys were saying. They’d gotten a little out of order, but Philza didn’t mind too much. In fact, sorting books was relaxing. He knew exactly what he was doing. He’d read the books and put them all back before.

“Aye, Philza! Why’d you travel the world and shit?” He turned to Tommy and the rest.

“I happened to get good on money because of a book I wrote, so I just traveled. It's always been my dream, even before I was your age,” he said, looking at Tubbo and Tommy. “It was one of the greatest opportunities I’ve ever had.”

“Traveling the world,” Wilbur mumbled. “I think I’d like to do that one day, but maybe just to specific locations. I’m not sure if I have the determination to really ‘explore’ places, I just wanna see them.” 

“I don’t know, maybe you’ll change your mind and want to get up close and personal to the cultures of other regions. Everything is so fascinating and different. The ways history or available resources play into the makings of a country’s future- well, everything, is so unexpected and strange, but in a good way.”

“If I could go anywhere, I’d go to space,” interjected Tubbo, smiling. “Sure, Earth’s cool and everything, but not as cool as outer space.”

“What, you wanna go see giant balls of gas and oversized uninhabitable rocks?” Techno rolled his eyes. “Space ain’t that cool. Overhyped, in my opinion.”

“Hey, space is cool. Let Tubbo pursue his dreams, guys!”

“Yeah. I mean, I agree with Techno, but you didn’t have to be so mean about it,” Wilbur said.

“You too, Wilbur?” Tommy flopped on the couch dramatically. “You betray us!”

“Hey, if the man wants to go to space, who are we to stop him?” Philza smiled. “But, still, is there anywhere on Earth you wanna see?”

“Hmm,” Tubbo gave it a long thought. “I don’t know. Maybe the great barrier reefs or something. I’ve heard it looks very pretty. What about you, Tommy?”

“Uh, I don’t know, Tubs.” Tommy looked to the globe in the room. “Maybe Greece, so I can see about all these myth guys Techno won’t shut up about.”

“Okay, okay kid. No need to take a jab at me there, but yeah. I would like to go to Greece and Italy,” Techno responded. “Maybe Europe too. Generally, everywhere around the Mediterranean, if we’re still going hypothetical infinite budget. The Greeks were all over the place.”

“Where’s the best place you’ve ever been, Philza?” Wilbur looked at the man who’d been silent for some time.

“Hard question. Every place has its pros and cons. If we’re talking about the Mediterranean area, I have a few options. I did enjoy watching glass-blowing in Vince, but it also smelled like shit there, literal shit. But, then again, the boat taxis were very fun. If we’re talking about Rome, there are a lot of things to see. Techno would like it. There’s the Pantheon, the Colosseum, Circus Maximus, the list goes on.”

“Don’t forget the bathhouses, Philza.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Philza laughed at Techno’s comment. “There are like ginormous communal bathhouses there. Everyone would be using them in ancient times, and they have a lot of preserved artifacts there if you go to the right one. But, if you’re looking for preserved artifacts, I would consider Pompeii. There are whole people preserved from when the volcano erupted. It’s a bit startling and strange, but it’s interesting and shit. But, if you wanna go somewhere just for the views, may I recommend Santorini. It is so fucking beautiful there. It is a little boring though, outside the magnificent scenery. If you went, I’d say, just go for a day or two.”

“Wow, Philza, really giving us the rundown,” Techno said.

“What can I say? I don’t take travel lightly.”

“So, you wanted to travel the world. Did you think you’d do it by writing a book?” Tommy asked, curiously.

“Well, not originally. I just worked a job in retail for a while, whilst working on my book. It was just a hobby and I didn’t think much of it at all. I didn’t have a career in mind when I was younger. And you kids, you guys got any plans?”

“I’m too young for that,” Tommy said blankly.

“Agreed,” Tubbo added.

“I wish I was too young for that,” Wilbur said. “I’d like to be an artist, like a musical artist, but it’s just wishful thinking.”

“Oh, Wilbur,” Tommy leaned in, smiling. “I’m sure your music is fantastic.”

“You haven’t even heard it.”

“Yeah, Big W. But I know. I’m, like, psychic and shit.”

“Big W,” Wilbur repeated fondly before the conversation moved on.

“I’m still in high school too, so I’m undecided,” Techno said.

“Wait,” Wilbur started before he was cut off by Tubbo.

“You're in high school! How?” Tubbo exclaimed. “You look so old.”

“Gee, thanks Tubbo. Yeah, I’m in fucking high school, big deal.” Philza himself was just a bit floored. It was odd. He’d just assumed Techno was in college, but he’d been wrong. It didn’t change anything really unless he had more parents to deal with because of this. “I’m probably going to major in something vague, like business, so I can just do whatever I want when I decide what I want to do.”

“That’s very smart of you,” Philza said. “I think high school is too young to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life. I sure as hell wasn’t ready to decide at that age.”

They all laughed. The rest of the afternoon was just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is more angst (hurt/comfort) so just wait


	13. You’ve Been Gone (For Quite Some Time Now)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last bit of full on hurt/comfort before the finale. hope you all enjoy

Wilbur’s phone hardly ever rang, and not late at night. He tried to ignore it. If it was important, they’d just leave a voicemail. So, he laid there, listening to the damned thing. It’d only rang for twenty seconds, but it felt like five minutes. He dragged himself to sit on the bed and answered it.

“Hey, Wilbur.” It was his mom. “How’re you doing, honey?” Wilbur paused. It’d been around a year since they spoke.

“Fine, Mom. Why are you calling me?” Wilbur didn’t feel well. He had dreaded talking to her every day until he realized she wasn’t calling him anymore. She shouldn’t be calling him now.

“Wilbur, be honest. How are you doing?” Wilbur didn’t like his mom anymore, and he didn’t like to say it out loud, because most moms weren’t like Wilbur’s mom.

“I’m doing great, Mom. Better than I have in a while, honestly.” Wilbur just wanted to go back to sleep. His hand danced over the blanket.

“That’s great to hear, Wilbur. I love you.” It was a faint whisper now, her voice. At the end of the day, she was still Wilbur’s mom.

“I love you too, Mom.” His voice was also a whisper, more than before, matching hers.

“Goodbye, you know I love you to the moon,” he could imagine her stretching her arms out like she did when he was little like she could hold the galaxy in her hands. “And back.”

“Wait, Mom,” Wilbur was scared. “Mom, are you okay?”

“Wilbur, I’m sorry.” Wilbur waited, unsure of what to say. “I should’ve been better. You were so little and tiny. You were so cute, and I am so sorry, for what I put you through. None of it, none of it, was ever your fault.” And so came the words. 

“It’s okay, Mom. I forgive you.” He didn’t, but he wanted the best for her. Was she waiting on the other side of this call with sleeping pills, or was it just his head? Would he ever see her again? Maybe not. 

He’d just been a kid. He’d been what, ten, eleven? You don’t try to kill yourself if you only live with a child. It was a big possibility that the only other resident of the house, a kid, would find the body. It wasn’t her fault, maybe. It’d been hard for her, of course, and there were things she couldn’t control. But, she didn’t have to keep Wilbur around. He shouldn’t have been her saving grace, the only thing keeping her frail mind above water. He wondered what life with his dad would’ve been like. Would she have killed herself already? Would it have worked the first time, because no one looked for her? Would Wilbur be left to wonder why his mom had sent him away?

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Wilbur,” the response took a second to continue. “Wilbur, I’m doing as well as I always was. I’m staying though. I’m not going anywhere, honey. Maybe,” another pause. “Maybe I’ll check in somewhere. You know, get some help. That’s what they say, or something.”

“Yeah, Mom. That’s great. That’s good.” The words flowed from his mouth. He couldn’t quite concentrate. It felt like he was back on the step of his front door, looking up at the stranger at his door, knowing something was wrong.

“I love you, Will. Maybe, someday, we’ll see each other again. Isn’t that right, Wil?”

“I hope so. I hope so, Mom.” The last ‘Mom’ came out cracked. The phone beeped. She’d ended the call. Wilbur gripped the phone in his hand, focusing on it, instead of the fact he was crying. It felt like his dad’s house. He didn’t want anyone else to hear his crying, no one knew exactly what he was feeling, and they couldn’t really help. It felt like he was closing in on himself.

His head tucked into his arms, safe and sound, and he let himself sob. He rolled onto his side and grabbed a pillow. It was childish, sure, but so was crying. His face was damp soon, and he maneuvered himself to get a tissue. It was weird, how he so easily got it. He supposed that since it was all in his head, his physical body could still feel the urge to get rid of the horrid snot under his nose. He moved to the same position, letting the bad thoughts flow freely. It didn’t matter anymore, there was no stopping them.

The door opened moments later, or hours later. Wilbur didn’t know. All he knew to do was try to make it look like he was sleeping, unfortunately, that was impossible. His legs were still kicked over the edge of the bed. So, they knew he was awake. 

He was expecting Philza. “Aye, Wilbur,” the figure approaching him whispered. “You okay?”

Wilbur wiped his face off with his sleeve. “Yeah, yeah. Just, I don’t know. I’m just tired right now.” He didn’t look at Tommy. “Really tired.”

“That’s okay, Wilbur. We can be really tired together.”

“Why are you awake at this hour, child?”

“Oh, come on,” Tommy groaned at the nickname. “I just- I had a little nightmare. Nothing too big, it was just hard to go back to sleep.”

“Wanna tell me about it, bud?”

“I don’t know, it’s just. I dream that I was changing, but I was at my parents' house. I was all alone, in all that pain. I didn’t know what waited for me when my parents came home. It was-” Wilbur wrapped his arms around Tommy. The two of them were both crying now.

“It’s okay, Tommy. All of us are here now, and your parents, yeah, those bastards? We’re never gonna let them take you away from us. Philza has literally kidnapped you, like illegally, Toms.”

“Oh, Wilbur,” Tommy laughed. “Thank you, Wilbur. Now, why are YOU awake?”

Wilbur thought. “Nothing. Just a call.” Tommy waited for him to say more. “It was my mom. I haven’t seen her in, like, a year now.” Wilbur realized Tommy could understand. Not all moms were good moms. “It was just surreal, talking to her.”

“Is she a shitty mom?”

“Yeah, Toms, she’s not the best. I still love her though, she did raise me, after all.”

“Oh, Wilby. You have such a big heart. I think that’s okay. If I think someone in your life’s toxic, I’ll simply cut them out myself.” Wilbur, no Wilby, giggled at his new name from the kid. 

“Wilby, huh?”

“I did not say 'Wilby', I said Wilbur. It was just muffled.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you said, child!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also sorry i updated a day late


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> consider rereading the chapter titles before reading this please

At the end of the day, hybrids and humans are not the same. They’re not equal to each other, and that isn’t the issue at hand. The issue at hand is what one might consider the perspective of the difference in and of itself. Because humans see something different when they look at hybrids, that is all they think about. But, hybrids have humanity, just the same as other humans, other people. They live their lives, just like any other human living right alongside them. The only real difference is how humans treat them. They aren’t magical. They aren’t fantastical creatures, or dangerous monsters, they’re people and deserve to be treated as such.

\------

One day, very far in the future, about a year, a man named Philza closed his computer, looking over the final edit of the book he’d been working on for a while. You see, a long time ago, far longer than a year, Philza had written a book, just like the one he just finished, but not quite the same. The book was popular, so popular, he was pretty well off. Philza followed his dreams, exploring the world, but eventually settling down. He found himself in an empty house, with an empty heart, living a lonely life in the wilderness. Then something changed. Now, he could look out the window, and see his kids coming home from school.

That was what he did that day. Tommy and Tubbo were the first to return of course. Their school was only a short walk away. Wilbur and Techno had eventually changed to in-person school after Philza insistent for the fifteenth time, however it wasn’t close by. 

The two had made friends with a transfer, since the new school year. The kids name was Ranboo, and at first he was quite shy, to Philza, at least. Over time, he could see Ranboo was getting out of his bubble a little, and he could help but attribute a little of that to his boys. It was a few months, but he did tell the whole family he was an enderman hybrid. It was rare to find enderman hybrids for a reason, so Philza understood his standoffishness about the subject. 

Techno was still mostly a loner, but he was clearly happy with just himself. He was very enthusiastic about his new sport, fencing, which Philza assumed that it was like making friends to Techno, or at least something similar. Wilbur was off being more of a social butterfly than Philza would’ve expected. He’d made a few friends, and seemed pretty close to them, even though they didn’t really go to Philza’s house that often. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was because he wasn’t a ‘cool parent’ and that his two younger siblings would annoy him and the said friends. 

They were both looking for colleges already. Technically, Philza wasn’t their real father, but he knew it was fatherly pride he felt watching the two of them grow up. Wilbur wanted to major in music theory and composition, and Techno was sticking to his business major at the moment, but it was susceptible to change.

The final room cycled through people, none of them stuck like the others. Philza remembered their names, he kept a little book with everyone who’d stayed. It wasn’t like he didn’t love all of them in a way, but none of them were as close as the people who entered through the door that day. He couldn’t help but be proud of himself, and his sons, when it came to the family they’d come together and formed. 

They were the real inspiration for his book. It didn’t matter that they were hybrids, or that they had no place to stay. They were his family, simple as that. It didn’t matter that they weren’t human, and that’s what stuck with him, as he wrote that first paragraph, then the rest of the chapters. It was what he thought about as he put the last period at the end of the last sentence in the book.

“Aye, Philza! Come down, we’re playing Monopoly,” Tommy’s distinct voice shouted, reaching all the way to his office upstairs from what was presumably the living room. Philza smiled to himself, leaving his room. Sure, he loved his kids, but he would put aside familial attachment when it came to Monopoly.

“No offense, Tommy,” Techno said. “There is no way in hell you know how to manage money. I’m literally a business major.”

“Says the previous loser of uno,” mocked Wilbur.

“Uno is not the same thing as Monopoly, Wilbur, don’t be silly.”

“I will buy everything and win the art of capitalism,” Tubbo said with a full, perhaps unearned, confidence.

All jokes aside, Philza was happy. He couldn’t have ever imagined living like this, with some many people to care about, and so many people to care for him. Without them, he might not even have started that book, or maybe the book would be terrible, or completely different.

The house he lived in was not so empty anymore. The wall echoed with laughter or annoyed shouts and grievances. The kitchen was a mess, but it was used with love. There were footprints outside. His doors were open, even though the reason wasn’t there anymore, the real reason at least. Philza was the furthest thing from alone. Philza’s kids weren’t alone, they had each other. Life had ups and downs of course, but things were good right now, and that was all they all wanted. There were no impressions to be made, or any recent wounds to be healed. They'd changed, mostly for the better, Philza knew. There were flaws to each of them, and things weren’t always perfect, but that’s a staple of life. Because life was ahead of the people he loved, and no longer was it rolling towards them like a train. It was more like a playful slap of an ocean wave now, and it was something to look forward to. And soon they would leave, for college, then to purpose their goals, then to make their own families. While this was Philza’s story, as he’d written in the book, the lives of his sons were just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all of you! I hope you enjoyed this last chapter. It's been fun Have a wonderful day or night.
> 
> Have a wonderful day or night.


End file.
